PokémonOct 11, 2026

How to Read a Korean Pokémon Card (Name, Number, Rarity, Set Code)

Identify any Korean Pokémon card without reading Korean. Where the set code, collector number, rarity and regulation mark sit, plus a Hangul glossary.

You do not need to read Korean to identify a Korean Pokémon card. The line in the bottom-left corner prints the regulation mark, the set code, the collector number and the rarity in Latin letters and digits, and those four things are enough to look up exactly what you are holding. The Korean text only matters for the card name and the game text, and a short glossary covers most of that.

This guide walks through a real card from top to bottom, then gives you the Hangul terms that appear on almost every card.

The one line that identifies the card

Take the Korean Charizard ex from Pokémon Card 151 as shown in Pokémon Korea's official card database. In the bottom-left corner it reads, in order:

illus. miki kudo - the illustrator credit, printed in Latin letters.
G - the regulation mark, a single letter in a small box.
sv2a - the set code, in its own small box.
201/165 - the collector number, then the size of the main set.
SAR - the rarity.

That is the whole identity of the card. "sv2a 201/165 SAR" is unambiguous in any language, and it is what a careful seller will put in a listing title.

A few things worth knowing about each piece:

Set code. Modern Korean sets carry the same code as the Japanese set they are localized from. The official Korean database files Pokémon Card 151 under SV2a and Mega Brave under M1L, the same codes used in Japan. English sets use a different system (three-letter abbreviations), so a code like sv2a immediately tells you the card belongs to the Japanese-style release family, not the English one. If you want to turn a code into a set name, see Korean Pokémon sets and their Japanese and English equivalents.

Collector number. The number after the slash is the size of the main set, not the total number of cards printed. When the first number is higher than the second, as in 201/165, you are looking at a card from the secret block at the back of the set. In Korean 151, cards 166 and up are the art rares, super rares, special art rares and ultra rares.

Rarity. Korean cards use the Japanese letter system: C, U, R, RR, AR, SR, SAR, UR and a few set-specific marks. The full list, with examples, is in the Korean rarity guide.

Regulation mark. This letter decides which tournament formats a card belongs to. It is shared across languages, so a card marked G in Korean is marked G in English and Japanese too.

Promo cards read differently

Promotional cards do not have a set size after the slash. Instead they carry a promo series code:

SV-P for the Scarlet & Violet era, for example 031/SV-P or 176/SV-P.
S-P for the Sword & Shield era, for example 191/S-P.
M-P for the MEGA era that began in 2025, for example 001/M-P.

If the part after the slash is letters instead of a number, the card did not come from a normal booster pack. How those cards were handed out is covered in the Korean promo card guide.

The top of the card

Reading left to right across the top:

Stage. A small label shows 기본 (Basic), 1진화 (Stage 1) or 2진화 (Stage 2). Evolved Pokémon also show a thumbnail of the previous stage with a line such as 리자드에서 진화, which means "evolves from Charmeleon."
Name. The Pokémon's Korean name in Hangul. Korean names are their own localization, not a transliteration of the English name: 리자몽 is Charizard, 이상해씨 is Bulbasaur, 파이리 is Charmander, 꼬부기 is Squirtle, 뮤츠 is Mewtwo and 피카츄 is Pikachu. The "ex" suffix is printed as a logo, the same as on English cards.
HP and type. "HP" is printed in Latin letters, followed by the number and the type symbol.

Because the name is the one part you cannot read at a glance, the practical trick is to ignore it. Use the set code and collector number to find the card in a Japanese or Korean card list, where the artwork confirms the match.

Attacks and Abilities

The middle of the card works like any other language edition. Energy symbols on the left show the cost, the attack name follows in bold Hangul, and the damage sits on the right in digits. On the Charizard ex above, the two attacks cost one Fire and four Fire, and deal 60+ and 330.

Abilities are introduced by the label 특성. Effect text is written in full sentences under the attack name. If you plan to play with the cards, not just collect them, you will want the English text of the same card open beside you. The collector number makes that easy, because the Korean card follows the Japanese card list number for number.

The bottom band

Just above the identification line is a strip with three fields, always in the same order:

약점 - Weakness, followed by a type symbol and a multiplier such as ×2.
저항력 - Resistance.
후퇴 - Retreat cost, shown as Colorless Energy symbols.

Pokémon ex cards add a rule box labeled ex 룰 ("ex rule"), which states that the opponent takes two Prize cards when the Pokémon is Knocked Out. Mega Evolution ex cards from the MEGA era carry their own rule box stating three Prize cards.

Hangul glossary for card text

These terms appear on the cards themselves or in the official Korean card database. Matching the shapes is enough; you do not need to pronounce them.

Korean	Meaning
기본 포켓몬	Basic Pokémon
1진화 / 2진화	Stage 1 / Stage 2
특성	Ability
약점	Weakness
저항력	Resistance
후퇴	Retreat
아이템	Item
서포트	Supporter
스타디움	Stadium
포켓몬의 도구	Pokémon Tool
기본 에너지	Basic Energy
특수 에너지	Special Energy
덱	Deck
벤치	Bench
프라이즈	Prize card
트래쉬	Discard pile ("trash")
데미지 카운터	Damage counter
기절	Knocked Out

Trainer cards print their category (아이템, 서포트, 스타디움 or 포켓몬의 도구) near the top, so you can sort a pile of Korean Trainers into types with only four words.

Reading the pack and box

Product names follow a fixed pattern on Pokémon Korea's site, and the words tell you what kind of product it is:

확장팩 - expansion pack, the standard booster.
강화 확장팩 - enhanced expansion pack, a smaller subset.
하이클래스팩 - high class pack, the premium year-end product.
프로모 카드 팩 - promo card pack.
스타터 세트 - starter set, a ready-made deck.

The set name itself sits inside corner brackets, for example 강화 확장팩 「포켓몬 카드 151」. Pack and box sizes vary by product type; the numbers are in what is inside a Korean booster box.

The back of the card

Korean cards use the same card back as English cards. The Play! Pokémon TCG Tournament Handbook singles out Japanese cards as the only ones whose backs differ "than the card backs of all other Pokémon trading cards." So a Korean card face-down in a sleeve looks like an English one. That does not make it legal in US sanctioned play, which is a language rule, not a card-back rule.

One historical exception is reported by collectors: the small Korean release from the Ruby & Sapphire period in the early 2000s is described on collector forums as having Japanese-style backs. Anything printed since Pokémon Korea's modern releases follows the international back.

A quick checklist for listings

When you are looking at a Korean card for sale online, check that the listing shows or states:

The set code and collector number from the bottom-left corner.
The rarity letters next to the number.
A photo where the bottom-left line is readable, not cropped or blurred.
For promos, the series code after the slash (SV-P, S-P or M-P).

A seller who gives you those four things has told you exactly which card it is. A listing that only says "Korean Charizard rare" has not. If you want to browse cards identified this way, our current Korean stock is listed at /shop.

Verify any card yourself

Pokémon Korea runs a public card search at pokemoncard.co.kr. Each card page shows the collector number, the rarity, the illustrator, the Korean name, the full card text and the product the card came from. If a number and rarity in a listing do not match the official page for that card, something is wrong with the listing.